News round-up

Centre stage

Cheese and Apple Salad and Chicken Waldorf are are the latest additions to the Oasters sandwich fillings range from Fridays.

The new launches bring the number of prepared Oasters sandwich fillings to 60. They are available in 1kg tubs.

Prices: Chicken Waldorf, £7.45; Cheese and Apple Salad, £5.95

Available from: Fridays 01580 710223 www.Fridays.co.uk

A right roasting

Roasted peppers, onions, courgettes and carrot are the veggie delights in Paramount 21's latest frozen savoury tart. The 240g uncooked tart is wrapped in filo pastry, topped with mozzarella and cheddar, and can be baked-off from frozen in 30 minutes. It's a substantially sized tart that's said to be ideal to serve hot or cold, and comes packed six to a case.

Price: £1.45 each

Available from: Paramount 21 01803 840421

Zanussi's v good idea

Zanussi has introduced a high-volume deep-fat fryer with a v-shaped cool area in the tank well, allowing debris to drop into the bottom and reduce oil contamination. The heating elements on the PD700 range, which comes in gas- and electric-powered versions, are located to the outside of the well, but away from its lower part, so the heat can rise through the cooking area of the tank, avoiding high temperatures where the debris has deposited.

The fryers have a wide expansion zone, allowing for high foaming when immersing a lot of frozen product, and come with a cold oil drainage system.

Price: twin-tank gas-powered fryer, £2,635

Available from: Zanussi 01306 741239

Another fine mesh

Grills have relatively high kitchen maintenance costs as a result of damage to the ceramic pads which radiate the heat from the burners - usually occurring in the bustle of service when they get jabbed by meat tongs.

Bartlett has come up with a simple way of preventing this type of grill damage. It has added a stainless steel mesh just below the plaque radiants on its new Baron heavy duty grill. This does not interfere with heat radiation but does prevent damage.

The Baron grill also has an adjustable brander plate to reproduce barbecue grill marks on food.

Price: £1,400

Available from: Bartlett Catering Equipment 01442 284261

Golden opportunity

It sounds incredible but Bernard Matthews claims that its new Turkey Nuggets is the first time turkey has been used in such a way. The Turkey Nuggets are made from whole-muscle breast meat and weigh 20g each. They come in cases of 3 x 1kg bags.

Price: 7.5p per nugget

Available from: Bernard Matthews Foodservice 01603 872611